The false rumors are going to bite back

I know Bay thought that it would be a good idea to leak false information so that people won't know anything about this.

From what I gather, the only false information will be related to story and Transformers characters.

The false information WILL NOT be related to casting information. So if you see an article online that says "so and so is in negotiations to be in Transformers" such as Jonah Hill and Isabel Lucas, that stuff is real or it was just a rumor but was not part of their false rumor plan.

The reason why is because if you see what happened recently, Michael Bay had to confirm it himself that Jonah Hill and Isabel Lucas are not part of the production. The reason why? I suspect that the agents of both celebrities will have too much unwanted and or incorrect press about them and it would be responsible by Bay if in the event the information gets out of hand.

So considering he said that he was going to leak false information, he still has to keep the real information controlled so that it does not affect the parties that have nothing to do with the movie.

Another reason why I believe that this whole false information drama is going to bite the production back is because of things like the Aircraft Carrier deal. It was not officially announced that there was going to be an Aircraft Carrier Tranformer or Broadside in TF2 but recently Lorenzo Dibonaventura confirmed that it WILL NOT be in the movie.

If is one of those rumors that took a life of its own, and the producer is telling fans not to get hopes up, then they have already dissappointed the fans.

However if this is just another false information gag and there really IS an Aircraft Carrier, then people who know the game they're playing will already know.

So you tell me which would it be?

1) dissappoint the fans by telling them there is no aircraft carrier?

or

2) or telling them there is no aircraft carrier only to lead them to believe there really is one in the end (because the fans know there will be false info leaked)

If it is number 2, then they really did jump the gun with the false info strategy because now fans will just believe the opposite and they will know or at least have an idea of what will be in the film, thus already spoiling the movie.

So if its number 1, fans are dissappointed
And if its number 2, fans will already know who's in the movie because they'll believe the opposite.

I'm sorry to say this but the leaking of false information really won't work. It will get the hopes up of fans only to be dissappointed in the end or it will be spoil it for them because they will know to expect the complete opposite.

Its better to just have tighter security on the script and character designs. Thats just the way to go.

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

I have to completely disagree with you.

I love leaks as much as the next guy (hell, I link to enough of them here from other sites).

All of it is still technically stuff that is not on a "need to know" basis until we see an ad/trailer for it. These "scooper" websites will tell you otherwise obviously, because they thrive on it. If it were really about pure leaks, then those tools at sites like Aintitcool wouldn't be hobnobbing with industry people. (But that's another subject altogether)

Now I ask, how will it "bite back" exactly? In revenue lost? Highly doubtful. I said it before, when people (namely, the rabid, not referring to you) were whining ad nauseam about how this and that just cost Michael Bay another fan: Simply put, that for every fan that is lost, there is one that is made. We may go tit for tat about how the story wasn't up to standards, etc., but the $$$ doesn't lie. And for all the harping on about fans lost, it looked like they gained a considerable amount more from that tally alone. Whether it will be repeat business remains to be seen. If TF2 has legs to stand on its own (better story, etc.), it will, bottom line.

I can tell you right now, that fans that are lost due to being disappointed because they can't find out immediately who they cast as Shia's sidekick (if he even has one), or what robot is getting used are a non-issue. Just imagine how many will see TF2, simply because they saw the 1st one, who don't even bother to go searching on the internet for this stuff.

How does that saying go? "You can't please everyone all of the time, ..."

And if people are that morose about confusing leaks (to the point that it manifests as negative posts/thoughts/being turned off), then they need not be so proactive in their search, take a break, have a coke and a smile. Because there ARE bigger things to get so worked up about... (people don't need me to list them either)

As far as casting rumors? When aren't there casting rumors? Is this the new so-and-so? How many times have we heard Nicholas Cage rumored to be in something? ( to that) Speaking as a non-industry outsider, this is not what I would call unwanted press. (casting rumors in general)

Plus, it's not like Bay held a press conference or public statement or anything like that, he said it here on his own blog,

Security can only do so much and 10 second internet glory must be too tempting for some of these guys on the inside. The first was was supposedly secure and look how much of that made it onto the web, go figure.

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

but what I meant in biting back is that its just not going to work out the way they intended it to work out

Its not going to affect box office dollars. In fact it will make it better.

It will just probably change fan reaction in a negative way.

I'm not talking about fan reaction in terms of how they felt about the movie but fan reaction regarding how they feel about this whole misinformation thing.

I really could care less about real information or fake information. I'm one of those guys who just reads news and watches trailers before the movie. I don't care to download scripts or predict whether a movie is
going to do poor or do well.

Its just my opinion that this strategy to prevent people from knowing stuff will take a life of its own when agencies will get angry trying to dispell rumors about them supposed to be in a movie.

Imagine the likes of Freddie Prinze Jr at an interview and then he gets asked:

"So what can you tell us about this news about you being in Transformers 2, can you tell us more about your role?"

" *confused* , gee I didn't know that I was in the movie. Someone call my agent!!!"

See what I'm saying? And another thing is that this misinformation thing will eventually take a life of its own meaning that there is nothing stopping ANYONE from making false information about the movie. Hell, a disgruntled fan of the first movie can go on boards stating that Cliffjumper Metroplex is going to be in the movie as a Dodge Viper.

And then if people start believing all this stuff about what was supposed to be in the movie, the producers are going to have a helluva time dispelling all these rumors so that fans don't get their hopes way too high.

Basically they are giving themselves even more work by doing this.

Just make the movie already and keep things the way they did them in the first movie. Before the 1st movie came out, I read all the articles, watched all the trailers and TV spots and I was still blown away by the movie. Not everyone is a hacker is going to steal the script. And although there LOTS of Transformers fans, they don't make up the general movie going public so not all of them are going to try to obtain the script.

I had the opportunity to read the script, I'm a huge fan, but I never read it. I just didn't care. I think their main concern was that one hacker that stole the script and leaked it out but thats really just a small handful of people. Many people didn't even know what the movie prior to watching it in the theaters.

Transformers 2 is going to rock regardless but if I think they are going the wrong way about the security of the film's information. Instead of leaking false information and tellilng people you're going to leak false information, just leak it without the big announcement. Or better yet, learn from JJ Abrams and the viral marketing behind Cloverfield. Create 6 different websites that almost look like they have nothing to do with Transformers, create myspace pages for each character, whatever, it doesn't matter.

The film will be a huge success no matter what. Its just that this strategy was flawed from the very beginning. But the film will make lots of money and I will watch it 10 times so thats all that really matters.

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

How about this, don't think anything is in the movie until you see it for yourself? Cry me a river but why do people think they need to know everything about the movie before they go and watch it? I am a big fan of the movie, but I'm definitely not looking into the whole, "mis-information" thing just because
a.) whats in the movie is in the movie and
b.) if its not in the movie its not going to make the movie any less than what it would have been.

So, who cares if people obsessed about the movie are palm-faced because they chose to believe things about a movie that, I don't think, has even had any scenes shot for it yet! I admit its neat to see if something I'm guessing from your childhood that you loved from Transformers would be in it, but you are less disappointed if you don't get your hopes up.

So come on, be baffled by all the rumors and get lost in the confusion! Like you're meant to be!!!

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

I admit its neat to see if something I'm guessing from your childhood that you loved from Transformers would be in it, but you are less disappointed if you don't get your hopes up.

Exactly!!!! I agree with what you said and I just enjoy the movie for what it is.

But I'm speaking about those hard to please hardcore fans and just saying that if people didn't know about the false rumors, they're going to end up being dissappointed or let down because what they heard about the movie turned out to be false. And not only false but INTENTIONALLY false.

And if they're going to make up information about it, of course they would make up information that "counts." Basically something that will leave an impression on someone and make people think "OH COOL!!"

I mean why would they give out information that people don't care about?? So obviously they will give you good but fake information. But in the end, if they don't see it in the movie, "those people" will be dissappointed.

I don't care but it just feels like someone jumped the gun in thinking that giving out false information would be such a good idea when all they really should be doing is focussing on making the film.

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

Unfortunately when I see the first trailer I'm gonna stay off the forums a little more as well as other parts of the internet, I'm just afraid I would get exposed to information that would spoil everything if you know what I mean. But once I see the movie, I'll be back on!

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

Originally Posted by darthrage

But I'm speaking about those hard to please hardcore fans and just saying that if people didn't know about the false rumors, they're going to end up being dissappointed or let down because what they heard about the movie turned out to be false. And not only false but INTENTIONALLY false.

But why do people have to dig around and try to find information about whats going to be in the movie? Honestly unless M. Bay says, "This is what is going to be in the movie", well, I'm not going to whole heartily believe it. Wanna know why? Because the internet is full of lies, scams, and thieves. So what if they read something that might look official, their disappointment lies with themselves for not researching where that information was cited from.

I can say "Yeah, 100%, Dinobots will be in the second movie!!". Does my statement hold any truth? What if i 'Jazzed' it up a bit to look more professional and write it like an article. What If I cloned some fake Citing that had no Citing of their own. I could even go further to create lies about saying "Michael Bay has told us" yatta yatta. But the problem with all these, even though I've made it look official, nested lies and false information to make most people believe it --- it was still a lie and the only person you should really trust is!!! The person directing the movie. And if that person says "There will be a lot of lies and misinformation", I suggest not holding your breath.

The rumors may bite back, that is, if the people effected by them don't realize how to find the truth... and sadly many people will blindly believe the most awkward of things.

Re: The false rumors are going to bite back

I'd rather not have an aircraft carrier (spider Bot) in a L.A. movie anyway it's more Japanese anime / video game boss than Transformer anyway.

A Combiner would be preferable - if we need new bang for the buck - it adds a new twist without over complicating matters such as anything excentric like "Masters" would.

I'd rather that the rendering time was spent on robot facial expressions and more believable looking Transformations than one one big flashy Deus Ex.

So If someone said you could have 15 minutes more Decepticons and not have a Combiner - I know I'd rather see the Humans trimmed down to a more exceptable proportion.

The First movie gets away with a high volume of fleshies as it in part follows the template of a 70's Disaster movie (in some slight ways) and they had lots of characters - many of whom usually died.

But I'd hope that a second movie would movie a story forward enhance the charactrisation - ponder some of the consiquences of the Transformers being on earth both for them and the humans... and not get bogged down in Sector 7 or sam's love life to the exclusion of the Transformers being there to any sensible purpose in an of themselves.

I look at a bit like Gremlins - The First Gremlins movie works best as it uses human and the Gremlins both to forward the plot and they have a influence on each other.

Gremlins 2 has much less to say and anything one remembers about it is silly visual things like oh a Gremlin in a dress is seducing Robert Picardo... etc..

I hope that Transformers 2 delivers bang for its bucks - sure - but I also hope that its a movie that will make you want to see Transformers 3.

Basically More like Iron Man less like Spider-Man 3 (if that makes sense).